…or is that just compulsive behavior? I have lots of riding to do over the next couple of weeks, but in the midwest, it also rains a lot, as it is doing even as I type. Should I go inside on my CT, or stay outside for the wet, windy experience?
What do ya’ll do?
Yup. If I didn’t I wouldn’t ride much.
only if you like cleaning your bike.
Misery is not something that needs to be trained. Unless of course yor in the Army in which case you always go out when its wet and cold.
and you already have a CT?!?!?! hell your answer has already been purchased 
Jim
I am not particularly fond of riding in the rain, and even with good weather I usually still do 2 Computrainer workouts a week.
I ride my CT in the morning during the week, banging out a hard interval workout, and then go long on the weekends. I think I can maximize my training time by getting a focused, high intensity, workout in on the CT rather than dealing with all the hassles of riding outside, especially in inclement weather.
My last 3 races have been in the rain!!! Actually, what I do for training (i hate indoor trainers) is mountain bike in bad weather conditions including rain, snow, cold, wind, etc.
After an afternoon run one summer my visiting niece asked me if I had gone swimming. I have to alternate 2 pairs of shoes so that I’m not always wearing wet shoes. If I’m going to be this wet just from sweat, why not run in the rain.
There are only 2 differences I see in cycling in the rain. First safety, make sure the course and your speed are safe for the conditions. Second, make sure that you are going to clean your bike. Otherwise what is the difference?
Yes, and I have the road rash to prove it!!!
Given that it has rained every weekend for the last 6 months, I can definitely say that, yes, I ride in the rain.
You do have to clean your bike afterwards, which gets to be a pain in the ass. It’s all how you look at. I look at it as a way to become a better mechanic.
There really isn’t any getting used to the rain. It pretty much always sucks. That said, there’s no substitute for riding your bike outside.
I do like riding and running in the rain, but don’t enjoy cold and rainy. The problem riding in the rain is that you have to deal with cleaning your bike more. But I think it is a good thing to do occasionally as you can’t control the conditions on race day. If you only train when it’s nice, what are you going to do when the weather is crappy on a race day? That said, I’d mix it up and do some rides in the rain, and others indoors on the trainer.
trained from IM NZ mostly on the CT during the week and outside on weekends. Riding in rain is not my favourite thing to do but its better than riding 4hrs indoors (my max is 3hrs to date) As long as its not monsoon conditions or very cold and wet we try to get outside as much as possible. But lots of CT for the hight intensity stuff. Outside has some advantages for race prep such as facing the wind, get to test out the back over bumpy surfaces, etc. But my main objection with long week rides on the CT is the boredom factor.
Since it rains a lot where you live, you proably do a lot of races nearby, so by default you probably have a good chance of racing in the rain. If you don’t train in it you won’t be prepared for it at race time. You won’t know how to handle wet corners, brake, etc.
Ride on. Just be careful and keep the rubber side down.
I live in NYC, and with the crap winter/spring we had…yeah I ride in the rain. Although I lost my patience and now just stay on the trainer.
To go along with what Rusty said, I raced WF this year. I thought this was comical. On Friday, the day before, someone was up on stage talking to the crowd about the course, conditions, etc. One person in the crowd asked “How do you break in the rain?”. Im just sat there, scratching my head and thought, “You wait for a half IM, with some pretty fast decents, to ride for the first time in the rain and figure out how to break? Are you shitting me?” Not smart.
You should ride in it every so often to know what it feels like and to know what you are comfortable with.
Rain, rain go away.
Couldn’t I just simulate rain on my CT? Ride in the shower or something? 
Thanks for all the good posts to my questions!
If you saw the drivers in long island you wouldn’t even ask this question… there is so much traffic out here and almost all of it is dangerous. I have been here for 2 years now and have seen 3 SUVs flip over for no reason in the rain, 4 MAJOR accidents been rear ended 2 times, etc. etc. I like riding but not to the point where I would be willing to take that kind of risk, That is why I spent money on the trainer and lots of DVDs to watch while I pedal.
Oh yeah and the bike cleaning thing too
I once read a quote, not sure who said it or exactly what it said, but it went something like this:
I love to ride in the rain because no one else will.
There’s something nice about being the only one out on a rainy day knowing everyone else is either on the trainer or skipped their ride altogether.
It rarely rains here in Utah, and I’m not that comfortable on the bike in the rain, so no, I don’t do it. I do run in the rain, except when it’s really pouring (very rare here). If the weather’s really bad, I go to the gym and swim! I do have a treadmill and an exercycle, but I’d rather suffer from cold and wet than from indoor boredom.
i enjoy riding in the rain, not the monsoons though since I’m assuming being struck by lighting puts a damper on one’s day. Since it doesn’t rain much here the rest of the year it’s a treat and a reason to clean my bike. Painted lines on the raod and concrete can be rather slick. You slide more and get less road rash when wet though!
‘It can’t rain all the time.’
-The Crow
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